Zhangling Chen

Profile

I am a PhD student jointly supervised by the School of Earth and Environment and the School of Geography. Before coming to the UK, I obtained my master’s degree in Hong Kong and bachelor’s degree in mainland China. During my master's study, I worked on a project “The conflicts between personal hygiene and environmental impact, using wet wipes as an example”. In the process, I was surprised to discover that wet wipes, an almost ubiquitous household item, could be a potential source of microplastics (MPs). This sparked my curiosity to continue exploring and ultimately decided to choose microplastics as the research topic for my PhD.

My research aims to explore: i) The uptake and accumulation of microplastics by terrestrial higher plants. ii) The impact of microplastics on soil properties and plant performance. iii) Transport mechanisms of microplastics in soil-plant systems.

Research interests

• Micro (nano) plastics in soil-plant ecosystems
• Environmental toxicology & Food safety

Qualifications

• MSc Environmental and Public Health Management, Hong Kong Baptist University
• BSc Public Health Management

Research groups and institutes

• Earth Surface Science Institute
• Sustainability Research Institute
• River Basin Processes and Management